Hazards of new landlords: House trashed, rent unpaid

Before renting your home out to tenants, first get a rental dwelling insurance policy.

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By ANDREW SCOTT

poconorecord.com

By ANDREW SCOTT

Posted Feb. 23, 2013 at 12:01 AM

By ANDREW SCOTT

Posted Feb. 23, 2013 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

Before renting your home out to tenants, first get a rental dwelling insurance policy.

But be aware: The policy won't cover any property damage or mess intentionally caused by a tenant.

"It only covers things like an accidental fire, storm or tree falling onto the house," said agent Melanie D'Alimonte of State Farm Insurance in Stroudsburg.

"If a malicious tenant or their pet causes significant property damage, the only recourse left to the homeowner is legal action through the court system. Insurance companies don't get involved, because it becomes arguable as to who, in fact, caused the damage or made the mess."

It's one of the lessons learned the hard way for Anthony and Elena Nemnom of Chandler, Ariz., who rented their Smithfield Township home to tenants for the first time last year.

"I installed all the carpets in this house myself," Anthony Nemnom said, looking at the carpets and floors ruined by trash, spoiled food, dog feces and stains.

Stacks of dirty dishes and pots had been left in the kitchen sink and on the counters. Windows had been left open, letting in cold air and causing pipes to freeze.

But what's most painful is that almost all of the Nemnoms' furnishings, including tables, chairs, lamps, stands, couches and a television set, are gone. Even the grill, items from the backyard shed and Anthony Nemnom's tools are gone.

The Nemnoms believe their former tenants took it all and left the house an uninhabitable mess out of spite over being evicted.

"What kind of people are they that they would do something like this?" asked Elena Nemnom, looking at her now-empty living room. "They seemed so nice in the beginning."

Gilbreath and Francis are the only two names listed in court records as defendants in the Nemnoms' case, though the Nemnoms said Gilbreath's son, Scott Diaz, and his two daughters also were tenants.

"We later found out there were other people living there whose names weren't on the lease," Elena Nemnom said.

The Nemnoms rented the house, near Airport Road off Route 209, to Gilbreath and her family last August. They agreed on a year-long lease of $1,600 a month, but the Nemnoms said the tenants never paid the full deposit and were short on the second month's rent.

The Nemnoms' first mistake prior to renting was not checking up on their insurance policy to see what would and wouldn't be covered, according to D'Alimonte.

The second mistake was not notifying their insurance company of their address change to Arizona.

"Valerie and her family gave us one of their previous landlords (in New York City) as a reference," Elena Nemnom said. "We called him and he said they were a nice family, but he had to move them out when their lease was up because he needed the space for his own family.

"We didn't check their criminal background," she said. "I guess at the time we really didn't think about it or see the need."

Online court records show no felony or misdemeanor criminal cases for Gilbreath, Francis or Diaz.

Court records do show Gilbreath and Francis owe $8,250 in rent, plus $187.10 in court costs, to Robert Ott of East Stroudsburg, whom they rented from between leaving New York and meeting the Nemnoms.

"We didn't become aware of Mr. Ott or the fact they owed him that much money until after we started having our own trouble with them," Anthony Nemnom said.

Ott, to whom Gilbreath and Francis paid $1,650 a month in rent, did not return phone calls seeking comment.

When the Nemnoms didn't receive Gilbreath's November payment, they flew from Arizona to meet with her.

Gilbreath told the Nemnoms she'd been ill in the hospital. Because of this, she told them, she'd had Microbac Laboratory Services of Tannersville inspect the house for mold, and mold had been found.

Elena Nemnom went to the house with a contractor Nov. 12 to fix the mold problem, but "(Diaz) told us, 'You are not cutting any walls,'" she said.

"Valerie told us she was breaking the lease," Anthony Nemnom said. "She said she'd had to pay for her hospital stay from the mold sickness, so she wanted us to give her back all of the rent she'd paid and let her and her mom stay there rent-free until the lease was up.

"We told her she had no right to make such a demand because we'd tried to work with her in solving the mold problem, but she wouldn't let us," he said. "That's when she said she was gonna sue us."

The case went to court Jan. 11, and Marshalls Creek Magisterial District Judge Brian Germano ruled in the Nemnoms' favor. Germano ordered Gilbreath and Francis to pay the Nemnoms $3,575 owed in rent, plus $176.55 in court costs, money the Nemnoms have yet to receive.

Germano gave Gilbreath and Francis 10 days after the decision to file an appeal or leave the property. The women moved out days later, after the Nemnoms had returned to Arizona.

In late January, the Nemnoms contacted neighbor Ted Hinds and had him check on the house. Hinds looked in through the front window, seeing the house had been abandoned and left a mess and that all of the furniture was gone.

"I used to visit Tony and Elena every week, and they kept their home immaculate," Hinds said. "I couldn't believe what I saw when I looked in there that day."

Hinds contacted the Nemnoms, who flew back from Arizona. The couple has since contacted the police and are trying to pursue further legal action against Gilbreath.

"We contacted our insurance company, and they told us our policy had been canceled," Elena Nemnom said. "Since we'd forgotten to have them send the mail to Arizona, our bills were still coming here, and the insurance company hadn't heard back from us, so they canceled the policy. We've been trying to get it reinstated, but it doesn't look like they're going to cover even the $3,700 cost of just the cleanup alone anyway."

The Pocono Record visited Gilbreath and her family at the Stroudsburg apartment they now rent. Standing outside the apartment's front door, Gilbreath denied she and her family stole or damaged any of the Nemnoms' property.

"They had mold in that house, and I got sick and had to go to the hospital," she said. "I feel better ever since I left that house."

Gilbreath showed what she said are hospital bills and the mold inspection report on the Nemnoms' house, but wouldn't let a reporter take a closer look at the papers and declined further comment.

"It doesn't look like we're going to get the money owed or our belongings back," said Elena Nemnom. "I try to stay hopeful that the police or somebody can do something for us."